Life University Athletics

MARIETTA, Ga. --- The Life University men's wrestling team held an incredible hitting percentage Saturday, having nine Running Eagles claim individual titles out of the 10 weight classes as the team pulled away late for the Appalachian Athletic Conference Championship.

The weight classes finished in reverse order Saturday, the first title for the Running Eagles being earned by Austin Harris at 285 lbs. He opened the day with a pair of pins before earning a 6-4 decision victory over No. 5 Gabe Jacobs to secure his spot in the title bout. With everything on the line against No. 3  and defending National Champion, Gage Braun, Harris dominated leading to Braun being disqualified by stalling out. For his excellent performance, Harris was voted by the coaches as Wrestler of the Tournament.

Defending National Champion, Zane Lanham, collected the second title of the day for Life U, pinning his first opponent and then gaining a 18-3 tech fall victory to advance to the semifinals. Lanham continued his streak of bonus point victories in the semifinals, besting his opponent in an 11-3 major decision. He finished his day the way he started it, earning huge team points with a second period pin for his title.

Asher Eichert went 3-0 to pull off the third title of the night for Life U. The graduate student started his day with a quick pin iin just 3:15. the semis saw Eichert earn a 14-6 major decision over an opponent ranked 16th. In the championship bout, Eichert kept control late to pull off a 3-2 decision victory over the 15th ranked 184 lbs. wrestler.

The win streak continued at 174 lbs., Riley Smucker opening his day with a pair of falls, the first in 1:12 and the second in 4:53. The final two bouts saw much tougher competition of Smucker, the Junior having to fight hard for a pair of upset victories. In the semis he bested No. 7 Douglas Peppers in a 7-3 decision, and then followed with a championship victory over No. 5 Stephen Kelle for a sudden victory win, 9-7.

As the tournament reached the mid point, Jack Bass saw Life U go 5-for-5 in titles earned. The top ranked 165 lbs. wrestler started his day with a pair of pins that took just over a minute combined. In the semis against an opponent ranked 21st, Bass earned another bonus point victory with a 15-0 tech fall. In the final match, riding time gave him the edge for a 5-4 decision.

The Running Eagles skipped a weight class before earning their next title, Brevin Balmeceda providing at 149 lbs. Similar to many of his other teammates, the day started with a quick pin, before dominating his opponent in a 18-0 tech fall. Balmeceda stayed unscored on in the semis, dominating his opponent in a 10-0 major decision. In the final against No. 4 Andreus Bond, Balmeceda fought an intense bout, coming out on top via a 1-0 decision.

Julian Hernandez earned all three of his victories over ranked opponents. He started with a 2-1 decision over an opponent ranked 25th, before coming out on top of his teammate in the semifinals for a 4-3 decision. The first place match set Hernandez against the No. 2 141 lbs., Parker Dobrocky, Hernandez taking control late for a 7-4 decision.

In the second to last weight class, Jacob Ruiz ran the bracket. The morning opened with a 16-0 tech fall, while his semifinal match took even less time, pinning his opponent in just 1:53. In the first place match, although he was unable to maintain his bonus point streak alive, Ruiz held the advantage the entire bout on his way to a 5-1 decision victory.

Brandon Orum put the bow on the day for Life U, starting his day with a 2:51 fall. In the semifinals against an opponent ranked 10th, Orum completed another bonus point win in a 10-2 major decision. In the final championship bout of the day, Orum matched up with No. 7 Isaac Crowell, coming alive late to secure a 4-3 decision victory.

The 11 Life University Wrestlers all placed, giving the team 196 points to secure the team victory. Southeastern and Reinhardt rounded out the top three with 172 and 147.5 points, respectively.

With the conclusion of the event, the year end honors were announced, Lanham being recognized as AAC Wrestler of the Year, Cole Manion as AAC Assistant Coach of the Year, and Omi Acost as AAC Coach of the Year.

Coach Omi Acosta spoke on the tournament and how thankful he was,"Like always, I want to thank God for the opportunity to compete and for my guys to be able to do well and compete for a conference title. I feel like we had to overcome some adversity today with some other things going on, but my guys came strong and focused on what was in front of them. Now, we are going to prepare and get ready for the Nation Tournament. God bless everyone that made it out today, the conference tournament was great, and thank you to everyone that helped out and the administration that stepped up today. Lucha."

Up next, the Running Eagles turn to the 66th Annual NAIA Tournament, taking a contingent of 11 wrestlers to Wichita, Kansas for the event running from March 3rd-4th.